Addiction Help: The Addiction-Trauma connection...

"Everything you'll need to recover from addictions."

"Addiction or Freedom"

Here is a step by step guide to understanding and dealing with any addiction. Addictions and compulsions, destructive behaviors, pain, suffering, unwanted habits and obsessive behaviors all are reactions to trauma.

Understanding the cause of this trauma is the key to ending an addiction. Recovering from addictions means dealing with pain, frustration, confusion and loneliness. There is nothing pretty about this. Dealing with emotions and mental habits is tough work. But it has to be done and in the end it's well worth it.

How The Addiction Thing Works

I've always been curious as to "what makes things work". The more I understand the inner workings of a thing the more comfortable I am with it. I've looked closely at addiction and recovery. I looked at "Getting Free From My Addiction" like it was my job. I wanted to know how it worked so I could be really good at it. Aside from having a natural curiosity I wanted to be as helpful to others as possible and that meant I had to study the subject. The overall human psychology and behavior stuff I'd been digging into for many years - but it hadn't got me out of the addiction mess. When I finally got clean, the addiction recovery idea was brand new so I went at it, like I said before, as if it were my job. Here you can read everything I've looked at, analyzed and come up with so far. I've looked for the reasons why some people are able to recover from addictions while most go on to the bitter end without any sustained success. The following assessments are based on my observations. The criteria I use for anything I pass along as a solution is: Is it real? Does it work? This solution provides everything needed for dealing with ourselves and others.

According to W.R. Miller, in The Addictive Behaviors, an individual can become addicted, dependent, or compulsively obsessed with any activity, substance, object, or behavior that gives him/her pleasure.

Why use a 12 step format?

I knew I'd need structured exercises so people could participate in their own recovery. In order to stay addiction free we first need to get passed the major road blocks. For this initial, getting started, phase I use the '12 steps' as the structure for the exercises. My doubts were that many non-alcoholics would feel that the site was not addressing their particular problems. That people would glance at the heading and say, that's for alcoholics, or they might say, I can't stop worrying (which is a serious addiction) and I want to stop, but this is for drug addicts. Please accept that an addiction is an addiction - period. The other issue was that, as a rule alcoholics and drug addicts aren't cruising the web looking for self help. More likely they're either doing their best to avoid anyone and anything that looks as though it might be connected to treatment, or they want someone or something to cure them. We live in a world of pills. Drugs are big business. There was a time when alcoholism and drug addiction was looked at as a moral failing or a genetic condition. With those theories you either needed "Saving" or you were simply doomed through your DNA. I suggest we set those theories aside for the moment. They are of no help to us and can really get in our way. What I want for addicts is that they gain complete control over their conditions. I want people to be able to say, "I was an addict but now I'm not". I can take any person in the world and get them addicted to heroin. If I took the drug away some of these people - after a period without the drug - would never take it again. Some would always want some more and look for it until they got it. Both were addicted, are both addicts?

Are people who once practiced anorexic eating habits addicts? I don't consider myself an addict any longer - why would I? Who decides what I call myself? We might want to drop the labels and old ideas for now and concentrate on getting free of our addictions without any rhetoric what so ever. There's a difference between being alcoholic and being an alcoholic. If my body does things with alcohol that causes me to crave more then I could say my body is alcoholic. I could say my body has an allergic reaction to alcohol. Is my body me? Let's keep this in mind as we go along. I use the 12 step format because it's great for peeling off that first layer of "Not real" and "Not working". What I really liked about AA, right from the start, was they talked about sanity. The idea of being restored to sanity...just felt right. There is no "sanity in continuing an addiction". I really wanted to be sane. I felt this held the key to my freedom. I want people to add their ideas and experiences to this site. I recently added a forum, if you want to make this site better, become a member.

Principles

The principles associated with the program of Alcoholics Anonymous are not a creation of Alcoholics Anonymous. If you continue you'll find how universal principles, if practiced, will lead to a solution: no matter what problems we're dealing with. This applies as well to those of you who don't have drug and alcohol problems. The process that follows uncovers the nature of the brain. Once this nature is revealed we can begin the process of changing it. Anyone who wants to move toward a self-determined path has got to understand the way the brain works - really. The more we understand about ourselves the better our quality of life can be. We want to take complete control of ourselves, our thoughts and behaviors. This is absolutely, 100% possible.

I've seen hundreds of people come through the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. Some started to practice the steps. I've seen a few, so far, stay sober. Most seemed to do reasonably well for a time only to slip back to the things that brought them in. They drift back to the, or never change, old patterns of thinking which, sooner or later, lead once more to active addiction. A popular saying in the twelve step community is, "if nothing changes: nothing changes". On the whole most of the new faces are reasonably motivated. This motivation is a result of suffering. If they come through the doors some what willingly its because the suffering has become too great. Most are forced into the room by society. There are no volunteers. Most likely the humiliation of winding up in these places will add to their suffering. Pain and fear will increase with the loss, or threatened loss, of some physical thing or situation. This includes the accompanying self image. Whatever the case, it is this suffering that produces an inner environment where change can take place. Change will, at this point, take place. This doesn't mean that progress towards a healthier happier life is being made. It is simply what happens to people under these painful circumstances. If one is to really put an end to the cycle of addiction, intentional consciously directed, change is necessary. The three principles, regarded in A.A., as essential to this type of change process are Honesty, Open Mindedness and Willingness. These principles will be practiced, to some degree, by the person who finds themselves in the right amount of pain. The question is will they be practiced enough.

Is addiction a disease?

Genetics and the Brain
"Most people on entering the rooms are convinced that their lives need some fixing up. They are aware something isn't as it should be. Some common ideas are that their troubles stem from society, their parents, fate or a failure to be obedient to a god. These issues, though problematic, are not the immediate cause or concern. They have little to do with initially ending the cycle of madness and the idea that they do needs to be set aside. I have attended a lot of meetings in detox facilities. I see groups of adults, young and old, sitting around in hospital attire. When ask what got them there most will attribute their fall to some outside issue. For example: I was doing good and then my Dad died, I had a fight with my spouse, I lost my job.... and as a result I started drinking or using. Here they are in a hospital environment, they look, act and dress like people being treated for some disease: and they are. It's amazing that it could escape their notice.

Take a look here at the, "I was doing good, then...", part of the patients story. What is amiss in their assessment of the situation? It's not true. It's fantasy. If you look at this you can notice it happening all around you. People say this type of thing all the time when they find themselves in some undesirable condition. Doesn't matter if the condition is sad, mad, or arrested. Have you heard it before? I was doing good, everything was fine until, she started, they started, this thing popped up...This - not knowing if you're OK - I believe to be one of the "things" in the world of recovery that keeps the success rate so low. This is also what I see happening in our society. That's what keeps things so crazy. As a race, we're not doing so good. So if we relapsed into anything once deciding to stop, we were not "doing good". What we were doing is not using. That's just better than - using.

I was one of those patients and I did the same thing. I sat in detox because I was so exhausted I couldn't take another step and it didn't occur to me that I was there because I was sick. For over thirty years that moment of clarity never took shape. I had a chronic life threatening disease and it went untreated because I just didn't know it. I knew I was alcoholic. I knew from college that it was listed as a disease. Even so, it truly never dawned on me that it was alcohol-ism that was causing my troubles. If that doesn't make any sense it's because, it doesn't make sense. That's the point. It was glaringly obvious to everyone who knew me but I didn't get it. Whenever I would start to get close to it my brain would change it, and it would disappear. If the detox place was full of any other group of mental or physical disorders the answers to the what brought you here question would have been more along the lines of, "I stopped taking my medication". The big book spends a lot of time on the disease aspect of alcoholism. This isn't a mistake. It's meant to convince the new person of what the problem is. To convince beyond doubt that when a disease goes untreated the result is that ones life always gets worse, never better.

Here is a good description of Disease: "Disease is understood to be the result of physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and environmental imbalance. Healing, therefore, takes place naturally when these aspects of life are brought into proper balance."

With these thoughts about balance in mind I'd like you to get started by taking advantage of the free services offered here. There are tools we can use right now to start balancing our brain activity. There are videos we can watch to start learning about nutrition and health. There is audio and video available to help get us started on a self determined path. Book mark these and use them. Let others know how and where they can access them.

Steven Earll, MA, MS. LPC, LAC

Addictions and compulsions are destructive behaviors that an individual acquires as a method of coping with the pressures of life. Some addictions have genetic components and are passed down through biological families. Alcohol and drug addictions are examples of genetic conditions. Other addictions can be linked to survival reactions in response to family trauma. Sex addictions and eating disorders can have roots in emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. Addictions such as overwork, gambling, overspending, smoking, and compulsive exercise appear to be the result of bad habits. Most addictive behaviors are maladaptive responses to unresolved trauma.

Trauma

I'll include some observations from the professionals mainly because it lends credibility and helps me make certain points. The last part of the statement about trauma is true. All conditions of this nature are a reaction to trauma. Trauma can be real or imagined. Habits and addictions are coping methods: this is true. The part about genetics is lacking in that it is sort of based on a model that has recently been updated. At this point in the DNA discovery process conventional wisdom is being replaced. As to what role genes and DNA play for you and me today - we've gone passed that point so it makes little difference. It won't help us one little bit and can set up some roadblocks in our thinking which get in the way of progress. All Doctors are people. Sometimes we forget that. Doctors repeat what they've been told. If they can't, or won't, they don't get to be doctors. All those letters after the name? That means they can sit for years on end and repeat things back to the teacher. If you listen to, most Psychologists, Psychiatrists and therapists they will repeat that same stuff to you. That's what they're good at. So far all of these fields and most scientific expeditions fall short of being a great help to society and the global population. In fact the damage they do by steering people to believe in things that have yet not been proven, or worse yet been proven wrong, has had a truly devastating effect on the planet. If we ignore ninety percent of what comes from the mainstream health care industrial complex we'll likely be better off.

Did I mention that some of my favorite people happen to be scientists and PHD's? I know, I'm hard on the establishment. It's difficult to cover every nuance of my feelings and assessments concerning them. I just get so tired of some professionals lack of common sense. Most of the trouble we get into as a race, we get into because we make stuff up. We try to invent recipes, solutions and formulas that meet our desires. We do this, all to often with no tested evidence. Trying to make sense of fantasy creates trauma the brain can't deal with. The problem with all fantasy is - it does not tangibly exist. It might some day but it doesn't now and we have to deal with now. The brain does not deal well with "doesn't exist". If we attempt to make "doesn't exist" into "exist" we're headed for trouble. The following is an example of the way our lives are shaped through the data we receive.

from: Alan Carr, Author of "Easy ways to stop smoking"

From our earliest years our subconscious minds are bombarded daily with information telling us that cigarettes relax us and give us confidence and courage and that the most precious thing on this earth is a cigarette. You think I exaggerate? Whenever you see a cartoon or film or play in which people are about to be executed or shot, what is their last request? That's right, a cigarette. The impact of this does not register on our conscious minds, but the sleeping partner has time to absorb it. What the message is really saying is, 'The most precious thing on this earth, my last thought and action, will be the smoking of a cigarette.' In every war film the injured man is given a cigarette.

The good news is the pendulum is starting to swing back in the direction of sanity. There are a few helpful people and organizations offering real solutions. Science is also moving onto the holistic path and the antiquated institutions are facing extinction.

Dr. M. Scott Peck

Chronic stress has at least two effects on people. First, prolonged stress causes people to regress. Their psychological growth reverses, and they become more immature. They rapidly become more childish and primitive. A common example is a sick person who is miserable and in pain for several days. Any wife will agree that her husband becomes self-centered, whiny and irritable; he expects constant attention and care. He behaves like a young, selfish child. People naturally regress during chronic discomfort.
Second, chronic stress numbs people's sensitivity. They can't stand to continually see human misery. They must stop feeling or they won't survive. The mind has this defense mechanism so people can continue working in horrible situations. If they kept their normal sensitivity, they would fall apart.


Anything we can read by Dr. Peck is time well spent. Addictive behaviors, like every other problem we face, are the result of trauma. Fantasies, all the unreal, not true, doesn't exist stories we're told have traumatic consequences. Identifying trauma is key to ending addictive behaviors. Next: Being Convinced

Nutritional Trauma

The first thing we can do to improve our conditions is take care of those things we can tackle physically. We who decide to "not practice" addiction will be faced with the task of re-creating our own thinking. If we don't, our chances, for getting free and remaining free of addictive behavior, are not good. What we're going to deal with more than anything else is the brain. What we can do for the brain "today" is give it what it needs for peak performance. What we can give it, to get this peak performance, is nutrients. To get started, you can watch "Nutrition and Behavior" here Video Playlist and bookmark this site at www.neurotransmittersofnow.com. Join the forum I installed on 8/20/09 and get started in the recreation process. The following is an excerpt from neurotransmittersofnow.com.

The Neurotransmitters of NOW website is an educational resource providing information for healthcare professionals and healthcare consumers about the root causes of human suffering and about practical, proven solutions. In an age of environmental degradation and dietary insanity (junk food), human suffering is increasingly due to an over-exposure to environmental (exogenous) and endogenous neurotoxins and also to nutritional deficiencies, which interfere with optimal brain chemistry and neurotransmitter function. Some neurotransmitters are designed to enhance joy and pleasure (bonding) and to modify pain and stress (coping) and when they are deficient a great body of scientific evidence strongly suggests that suffering ensues. Read all at www.neurotransmittersofnow.com